It is "Rocky" + "Friday Night Lights" + "Rudy" + "Stand By Me" = Varisty Blues.
If you played football, or ever hung out with the guys after a game, or ever LAUGHED at the guys who couldn't leave HS even after they graduated 9 years ago ... Then buy the movie, its worth it, and the soundtrack ROCKS !!!!Ok, so James Van Der Beek's Texas accent isn't all that great. So what if no football coach in their right mind would run a hook-and-ladder play to a 350 pound lineman. What does it matter that very few of us ever have a teacher as hot as Miss Davis...much less one that works in a strip club? It's still a great movie.
Look people, this isn't supposed to be a drama. This is a comedy-drama. Some dramatic parts, but it's supposed to be funny overall. That's why the movie has Tweeder! There are a few dramatic parts to the film, but it's mostly comedy. The intended audience is obviously the high school and college age, but can be enjoyed by nearly everyone...especially football fans.
Who knew that MTV Films was capable of making a movie like this? It did very well at the box office, and the DVD has sold well too...for good reason. Come on....everyone has to laugh when Tweeder steals the police car.
Buy Varsity Blues (Deluxe Edition) (1999) Now
When I first saw this film, I hated it. I could not find a single likeable character in the movie: the backup quarterback who couldn't seem to make up his mind whether to be ambivalent or committed to football; an obsessed, fanatical head coach; shallow, self-absorbed, hedonistic jocks; a whipped cream cheerleader; a little brother with an identity crisis; and moronic football dads wanting to do nothing more than live vicariously through their sons. Outside of a headbanging soundtrack and sensational football action, I was anything but impressed with VARSITY BLUES.Then I caught the film on cable recently, and watched it. Then I rented it, and watched it again. Perhaps I had been too judgmental my first viewing: VARSITY BLUES was slowly but surely revealing itself to me as a very entertaining movie. I came to appreciate Jonathan "Mox" Moxon (James Van Der Beek), a second string quarterback with aspirations to go to an Ivy League college suddenly thrust into the spotlight of his west Texas town as the new starting signal caller. I came to loathe Bud Kilmer (Jon Voight), the epitome of the abusive, cruel, vindictive, win-at-all-costs head football coach. I came to enjoy the small town "feel" of this film, where high school football players are placed on a pedestal and allowed to run wild. And what can you say about Billy Bob (Ron Lester) and Tweeder (Scott Caan), other than these two raunchy characters flavor this movie whenever they appear like onions in Texas chili?
Setting aside a hopelessly unrealistic player revolt (Where were the other coaches to take over when Kilmer left?), director Brian Robbins furnishes fast-moving, high-octane football scenes guaranteed to make those of us who have played the game (and still love it) want to strap on the pads again. VARSITY BLUES is less than perfect, like a six-pack of warm beer, but still satisfying to the last drop.
Read Best Reviews of Varsity Blues (Deluxe Edition) (1999) Here
This movie is not only a great achievement, but touches the heart of teenagers everywhere. Being a teenager in a high-school where football is a way of life, I can relate to this movie on several levels. I have recently graduated myself, and during my senior year, our football team went to state for the first time in 20 years. Just as we were getting ready for the state game, Varsity Blues was released. This is an amazing "roller coaster" ride through the life of a group of American high-school students who only want to do what is right. Varisty Blues is, and probably always will be, my favorite movie of all-time.There are two fundamental reasons why the Paramount Pictures film directed by Brian Robbins, Varsity Blues is one of the greatest movies made in this time. First of all it is the best depiction of high school life in a small town I have ever seen in a movie. Secondly, not only is the film frank and outspoken when dealing with the truths of growing up in a small town, but Varsity Blues is 105 minutes of film packed with diligently planned dramatic photography. The fact that each scene is pumped so full of emotion only amplifies the possible reality of the script. The story told by the movie Varsity Blues appeals to me for more reasons than one. First of all, the film is humorous, thrilling and full of emotion. Secondly, I grew up in a small town like West Canaan, Texas, where the story takes place, so much of the story is very real to me. For example, in my town, football games on Friday nights were more like religious ceremonials or rituals than simply high school athletics. This excerpt from the movie portrays this image perfectly: "In America we have laws; laws against killing, laws against stealing and it is just accepted that as a member of American society you will live by those laws. In West Canaan, Texas there is another society, which has its own laws. Football is a way of life. As a boy growing up in West Canaan, Texas, you never questioned the sanctity of football; you just listened to what the coaches said and tried as best as you could to win; win at all costs." After each game, the football team would have a party to celebrate whether the final score represented victory or defeat. These parties included alcohol, drugs, sex and probably much more that I was unaware of at the time. Nearly the entire school would attend these parties. It would have been unusual for the cops to not show up a couple of times a night to order everyone to keep it down even if the closest neighbors were miles away. Even if the cops had caught someone underage who had been drinking they couldn't really arrest them because then they wouldn't be welcome at Saturday's barbeque. Another similarity between West Canaan and my hometown was that the football coach had the most power in the town with players as close seconds. This meant that if a player was falling behind in class, the coach would have a talk with the teacher and soon the player would have one of the highest grades in the class. As in Varsity Blues, there was an abundance of racism in my town. Confederate flags were a common sight and racial slurs could be heard frequently. The truth is that although many people think that Varsity Blues is far fetched and unrealistic it is just the opposite. People do not want to admit that this type of community, with these problems still exists, but it does and Varsity Blues does an excellent job of illustrating what it is like to grow up in this sort of environment. Lastly, Varsity Blues is exponentially enhanced by the incredible photography portrayed throughout. This film includes scenes that I would go as far as to deem them the best I've seen. The extraordinary photography takes the film to a whole new level, where it becomes not only a movie, but art captured on film. Each scene was thoughtfully constructed and designed ahead of time so that it could display as much energy as possible making each picture worth much more than merely a thousand words. One of my favorite parts of the movie is during the game against Elway, after the team had spent the night at the strip club. This is because each fleeting incident, each motion, each flicker of film is bursting with power and vigor that it feels more real than if you had been a part of it. All of these aspects are what make Varsity Blues such an outstanding film. I am glad that someone was brave enough to confront facts that exist that most people do not want to believe are true, such as racism, premarital sex, underage drinking, cheating, etcetera. Varsity Blues does all this and more by presenting it in a way that appeals to people and causes them to feel as if they are in West Canaan, Texas as all of this is taking place.
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